Civil War is essentially an Avengers movie and a good one at that. As Earth’s mightiest heroes fight one another, it certainly does not lack world-class action.

And honestly, I like Zemo, the movie’s villain, more than most. Sure he hatches an absurdly elaborate scheme that would even make the most diehard mousetrap fans blush (there are dozens of them). Still, I appreciate the his motivation. It’s not about money, fame, or world domination. He wants to tear apart the Avengers after their actions in Age of Ultron led to the death of his family. Quid pro quo.

One of the more underrated aspects of Civil War is that introduces us to Spiderman and Black Panther.

What’s great about this is that it allows their initial movies to feel less like a traditional origin story. We don’t need to see T’Challa struggle as he trains to be the Black Panther. The movie opens with him already at the top of his game. Similarly, in Homecoming, we get to skip the radioactive spider biting Peter and seeing Uncle Ben utter “With great power comes great responsibility.” While I typically love a good origin story, I think I’ve had my fill at this point and I love the creativity here to get us up to speed quickly.

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 2

To be honest, I haven’t seen the second Guardians of the Galaxy since it was first released in 2017. What I remember though is a super fun movie with an excellent soundtrack. Speaking of which, shout out to potential Vol 3 soundtrack my boss posted yesterday.

Thor Ragnorok

Given just how stale the first two Thor movies were, it is truly incredible to consider what director Taiki Waititi did in Thor Ragnorok. It’s visually appealing and provides great action and comedy in spades.

This is minor but I also really enjoyed the brief scene where Hela exposes the Asgardians whitewashing of their history books ceilings. It’s not particularly significant but it’s a small added layer of world building that you don’t typically see the “good guys” do in a super hero movie.

What drops the movie a little bit, for me, is the Hulk. His actions scenes are great but I just didn’t care for his newfound dialogue.

Yesterday I mentioned my man crush for Sam Rockwell. Well, I have another one for Jeff Goldblum. A big one. And I thought he was great as the eclectic Grandmaster.

Just like Luis in Ant Man, I actually need more Korg.

Spiderman Homecoming

I don’t know how many times I can say “this is a fun movie” but dammit if this isn’t another fun one. With the previous Spiderman movies (pre-MCU that is), I found Tobey MaGuire to be a great Peter Parker but not a great Spiderman. To be honest I don’t really recognize the Andrew Garfield movies anymore, but I do think he was a more believable Spiderman, albeit an awful Peter Parker. I think Tom Holland bests both actors in both categories.

Michael Keaton, meanwhile, turned in a fantastic performance as the Vulture. I always talk about the villain’s motivation as a barometer for how good they are within the context of the movie. What made the Vulture so great was that he was, at heart, a family man that thought the ends justify the means. The ends, in this case, being the ability to provide for his family.

The whole build up to the prom is an all time scene.

Chills.

And let’s just say I don’t hate Aunt Mae.

Winter Soldier

With its espionage-thriller feel, Winter Soldier is one of the most uniquely styled movies in the MCU. Like all of the movies in the top 10, it features some solid action and then some.

Unfortunately, I don’t have a ton to say about the movie. It’s incredibly well made and, on given day, could be found inside my top 5. It just so happened to not crack it today.

That’s all I’ve got say for now. Come back tomorrow for the final release – the top five!